Progress, part two

In the words of Papaw, I felt about as useless as tits on a boar...except for the rare moment that I did about 60 seconds of plumbing disconnecting a hose under the galley sink.  But that left me with a job to do, go hose shopping, and make a Walmart run- THAT, I can do!  While I was gone, Donnie got the rest of the bimini and dodger up (it all worked, Mary :), then he and Jim (one of the yacht technicians at Ross Marine) got the engine running.  Once all the hoses were reconnected and inspected, she fired right up, and performed like a top.  They took her for a little spin, and Donnie docked her in her temporary home for the next few days.  Shore power was reconnected, the furnace was running nicely, and it was toasty warm for me down below when I got back from shopping.  Travel tip #1:  Always send the first mate (if she is female) to West Marine...I got two hoses for less than the price of one!  I think I had the poor boy flustered, as he was in a sweat trying to get the hoses cut properly...one ended up 1/4 of an inch shorter (I didn't tell him Donnie had added an extra inch and a half to the length to be safe), so I got that discount.  The whole time I'm talking clamp ring sizes and what-not, seriously not having a clue what I was talking about, but I had three guys helping me before it was all over.  My excitement for the day!  Donnie's excitement was getting to fire up the engine and drive his boat a lap around the ICW and back!  Tonight was pizza out with Carissa, a hot bath, studying charts, and then bed.  Tomorrow has a very long to-do list...reconnect the wiring in the mast, change out the topping lift on the boom (I am not going up the mast; I told Donnie I would pay Jim my hideaway money from Mamaw to not have to go up!), hank on the sails, fix the galley hose, tend to the head to be sure it is flushing properly, readjust the stuffing box, fit the captain's chair in the cockpit, check the transmission oil, lash the bike on the lifelines, inflate the dinghy, etc., etc., etc.  We'll see how far we actually get...estimated time of departure- Captain says Sunday at dawn, first mate says Monday at dawn...we'll see who wins a foot rub :)